Jersey Journal file photoWard E Councilman Steve Fulop checks election returns on April 17, 2012 in his Downtown headquarters. A recently leaked email from Fulop to some of his supporters has reignited fears that Fulop and acting state Education Commissioner had a hand in the selection of the city's new schools chief.

Both Fulop and Cerf have denied any serious involvement in the Jersey City Board of Education’s search for a new schools chief. Last month, the BOE voted to start negotiating a contract with Marcia V. Lyles, a former superintendent in Delaware and New York City.

But the email – sent by Fulop on May 2, 2011 to about a dozen supporters and two sitting BOE members – is a smoking gun for critics who claim Lyles was Cerf’s hand-picked choice. Lyles and Cerf are both graduates of the controversial Broad Superintendents Academy.

The email’s subject line is “Cerf meeting,” and the email reads, “Please keep in confidence as always. We are meeting at [address redacted] Arlington Ave tomorrow (Tuesday) at 6 p.m. See you then.” It was sent from Fulop’s Gmail account to, among others, BOE members Marvin Adames, Carol Harrison-Arnold, Carol Lester and Sterling Waterman.

Harrison-Arnold and Adames were not sitting board members when the email was sent.

Ellen Simon, who heads a parents group called Parents for Progress that endorsed the trio of 2012 BOE candidates also endorsed by Fulop, and local education advocate Skelley Skinner were also invited to the meeting.

Those who attended the get together deny that anything untoward happened. Fulop told The Jersey Journal he used recent school election results to show Cerf that Jersey City parents are “more engaged” than in the past.

“The conversation at that point was that the public is voting in record numbers and that they are engaged (and) that the state needs to give back local control,” he said.

Another meeting participant, who asked not to be identified, confirmed Fulop’s account, adding that there was zero discussion of who Cerf wanted as Jersey City’s schools chief.

“Chris Cerf mentioned no candidates,” the participant said.

Star-Ledger file photoActing state education commissioner Chris Cerf attended a meeting in Jersey City in May 2011, according to a leaked email from Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop to some of his supporters and some school board members.

Still, for parents and local leaders who believe Lyles is Cerf’s hand-picked choice, the email is evidence of back-room deals at the expense of Jersey City students.

“Why would this have to be some secret meeting? That’s what I’m asking,” said Riaz Wahid, who has emerged in recent months as a frequent critic of the BOE’s selection process and of Fulop’s involvement with the school district.

The timing of the May 2011 meeting is key. Just a week before, Harrison-Arnold and Adames won election to the board, defeating two members who were partial to former superintendent Charles T. Epps Jr., who stepped down in December 2011.

Harrison-Arnold told The Jersey Journal today that Epps, not Lyles, was a topic of conversation at the May 3, 2011 meeting on Arlington Avenue.

"The only discussion at that meeting was getting rid of Epps and local control," she said.

Richard Moon, the owner of the Arlington Avenue residence where the meeting occurred, said he has previously permitted community groups to use the first floor of his home to hold meetings. Moon, a Fulop supporter, said he doesn't remember attending the meeting himself.

Cerf’s office told The Jersey Journal last month that he had no hand in Lyles’ selection – Lyles herself called the accusations “really wild” last week – and, asked to comment today, Cerf spokeswoman Barbara Morgan said the May 3, 2011 meeting was nothing unusual.

"The acting commissioner has conversations on a regular basis with a wide variety of constituents - many of whom are elected officials that contact him to facilitate meetings to discuss issues that are of import to the people they represent - and this was one such occasion,” said Cerf spokesman Barbara Morgan.